Drill Weekend

Well it was a busy weekend. My Mother-in-Law and I were home with the girls Friday night. Then Saturday I ventured out to Chuck-E-Cheese so my daughter could attend a birthday party. Then it was down to Colorado Springs to take care of some errands and attend a dinner event. Topping the weekend off was a 2 hour drive through the snow to get back to Arvada. Fortunately I was able to get to the gym for an hour Sunday night, or I may not have maintained my sanity.

My Mother-in-Law is a huge help with the girls. We have unofficially divided and conquered with me taking primary responsibility for the 2 year old, while she manages the 9 month old. The toughest part is going to bed, but that is getting easier with time. Our 2 year old has somewhat dispensed with naps and as a result is “done” by around 8:00 PM. Even if she decides things are too exciting to go to sleep she can rarely make it past 9:00 PM.

Chuck-E-Cheese was actually a pretty good outing. I have not been inside one since childhood and I was impressed by the facility. The kids roaming around with buckets of tokens reminded me of little gamblers roaming through casino slot floors. The lights and entertainment options are almost overwhelming. I could sense my daughter willing to drop her coins in anything while the bucket was full, but being more selective as the coins ran down. There were a broad variety of games including rides, skill games for tickets and video games. Diya obviously self selected the rides. Destination parties are interesting as you don’t get to interact as much with the other party goers. I spent most of my time chasing her around and making very sporadic small talk with the other adults.

It had been a long time since I was down in Colorado Springs. It was interesting to join another couple and individual for dinner as I don’t socialize much anymore. The conversation covered child rearing and current events as is the norm for parents of children under 10. The menu suited me as well with the main course being a bucket of grilled KFC.

I debated coming home Saturday night, but opted for Sunday as it was already 9:30 PM by the time we got settled at the hotel. This turned out to be a mistake as I woke up to 5 inches of snow and a 90 mile drive back to Arvada. The roads were actually reasonable, but 2 hours in the car is a lot to expect from a 2 year old. If the weather was better, I would have made a point of breaking up the drive with a stop at the outlet malls to let her run around.

The balance of Sunday was shoveling snow, unpacking a little bit and watching football. Although the weekend flew by, I don’t feel particularly tired. I guess that is another testament to avoiding late nights at the casino followed by 3 hours of sleep.